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Oh man, I am so mortified that the last time I posted anything on this blog was a year ago for the horse cards for last year’s Kentucky Derby. One of these days things will calm down enough around here to resume throwing ridiculous parties.

These contain information as currently available, as more information becomes available I may make updates and re-post here later in the week. Note that not all horses here will actually run the race, only 20 will compete. These are the top 26 as frequently a few horses in the top 20 are scratched and do not compete. You will need to discard a few cards, check the lineup Saturday morning.

I recommend printing them on heavy card stock and use a straight edge and x-acto knife to trim at the crop marks. Have a great Derby, everyone!

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A few years ago for my Kentucky Derby party I designed these cute printable cards with info about each of the horses. They’ve become a bit of a tradition around here, so here they are for 2015! In order to get them out a little earlier this year I’ve put them together before the lineup is completely final, so you will need to remove a few cards for horses that don’t make the final cut, or just check back here for an updated version a few days before the Derby. I will also be making updates as more info on jockeys, etc is made available or if there are any horses added as late additions. Updated with the official lineup!

Thursday update: New horse added to the lineup! Make sure you download the addendum, too.

I recommend printing them on heavy card stock and use a straight edge and x-acto knife to trim at the crop marks. Have a great Derby, everyone!

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These tiny, colorful salads are just the springiest springs to ever spring. Perfect for the Spring Tea Party Menu, but also perfect for Easter dinner!

I got the edible flowers at Berkeley Bowl here in the Bay Area, but I’ve also seen them locally at Rainbow Grocery, Draeger’s, and Whole Foods. For flavor I generally like the pansies and nasturtium the best, but couldn’t resist variety of colors this time.

Cut the top 3″ off of each asparagus spear and set aside the rest of the spear for other use. Blanche the asparagus tips – prepare a large bowl with ice water and set aside. Bring a pot of water to boil. In small batches, drop in asparagus tips and allow to boil for just a few seconds until bright green. Quickly scoop the asparagus out of the boiling water with a skimmer and drop into ice water to stop them from cooking further. Asparagus will be crisp. If you’d prefer more tender asparagus, you can leave them in a little longer, just be careful to not over cook.

Shred the rainbow carrots with a grater, getting an assortment of colors. Toss together the greens and grated carrots and divide into small bowls. Arrange with baby asparagus tips and a few flowers. Serve with poppy seed dressing.

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For the Modern Tea Party with Oh Happy Day, I knew I wanted traditional tea sandwiches, but you know, prettier and better. Make a lot of these, because they will disappear quickly!

Smoked Salmon and Cucumber Tea Sandwiches

good quality white bread

spreadable herb cheese (like Rondelle or Alouette)

sliced cucumbers

smoked salmon

sprigs of dill

Cut bread into rounds using a sharp cookie cutter. Transfer spreadable cheese to a piping bag fitted with a large round tip. Pipe onto bread in a neat swirl. Top with sliced cucumbers. Cut smoked salmon into a rough triangle and roll into a loose cone. Place seam-side down on cucumbers and top with a sprig of dill.

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]]>These little cuties are inspired by Hostess Snoballs – which are brilliant on a conceptual level but perhaps fail a bit in execution. I know it’s a little weird to make something called Snowballs for a Spring Tea Party, but just go with me here. This easy version is just brownies baked in a mini muffin tin, piled high with my favorite marshmallow frosting and rolled in very finely shredded coconut.

Brownie Marshmallow Snowballs

24-36 brownie bites, or brownies baked in a mini-muffin pan

marshmallow frosting (see below, make only when you are ready to pipe)

Prepare a large piping bag with a very large round tip (like Ateco #809 or Wilton 1A) and fill with marshmallow frosting. Pipe a large ball onto each brownie by placing the tip in the center of the brownie and very slowly pulling straight up, allowing the frosting to fill out into a big round dome. Allow to partially set, about 20 minutes, then carefully roll in fine coconut.

Marshmallow Frosting

Fill the bottom pan of a double boiler with water. If you don’t have a double boiler, fit a metal bowl over a medium saucepan (use the metal bowl of a stand mixer if you have one). Bring water to a simmer.

In the bowl, whisk the egg whites, sugar, corn syrup, and salt until well combined. Place the bowl over the simmering water and continue to lightly whisk until the sugar has dissolved and the mixture is hot (about 130°F).

Pour mixture into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment. Whip on medium speed until big and fluffy and cooled, about 5 minutes. Use frosting within 20 minutes or so, before it sets.

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]]>Oh Happy Day hosted a this modern, spring-inspired tea party and I brought a bunch of pretty dainty things for the menu – tea party classics with the most colorful fresh spring ingredients and edible flowers. I know every time I post something I did with them I say LOOK HOW PRETTY but really, LOOK HOW PRETTY.

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This week was the first week of Fall semester at my university and somehow in all my years of teaching the start of the semester gets crazier every year instead of easier. But I wanted to slip in one last bit of summer and tell you about this beautiful summery menu I did for my good friends Mark and Emily’s wedding.

My little crew and I served a family-style dinner to 200 guests, dining al fresco in a friend’s lush and sprawling backyard. The menu was inspired by the amazing local California summer produce and summer backyard classics.

The evening started with some passed appetizers as guests arrived and socialized, like prosciutto wrapped honeydew melon with lime glaze (not pictured). And these little skewers of fresh mozzarella, basil, and little tomato hearts.

Perfect summer watermelon and jicama salad with feta and mint. It’s really hard to tell from this picture, but I painstakingly cut all the jicama into precious little hearts for this salad. My favorite fancy salad trick!

A tart made from layers of summer squash, herbs, and ricotta, and oozing with melted mozzarella and parmesan in a tender pastry crust. It’s hearty enough to be a main dish for vegetarians, but also pairs nicely with the beef as a side.

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I know it’s not exactly ground-breaking to say that chips and salsa is the perfect party food. But for the latest Blog Party hosted by the adorable Jamie I made chips and salsa the star of the show by making a colorful and summery assortment of different salsas, going a little nuts with the summer fruits.

And guacamole. We went through a LOT of guacamole.

It actually worked out even better than I had originally thought, since there were plenty of great vegetarian and vegan options and the corn tortilla chips are already gluten-free, so there was something for everyone.

The mango shrimp salsa was the surprise hit of the night! My other favorite was maybe the peach pineapple chipotle salsa. And you can’t beat classics like tomato and tomatillo, especially paired with guacamole or a sprinkling of cotija. Nevermind, I can’t pick a favorite. That’s the joy of the bar format anyway.

For cooling sweets I also added in my new favorite passion fruit mousse…

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This weekend was another edition of Oh Happy Day Craft Nights. This time was calligraphy with the adorable Maybelle Imasa. For the occasion I made these tiny jars of my extra creamy and luscious lemon curd made from Meyer lemons, paired with these absolutely HEAVENLY rosemary shortbread as treats for attendees.

Sometimes I forget how amazing good shortbread can be. It’s such an unassuming cookie. But this shortbread is tender and oh so buttery, and the rosemary flavor is both unexpected and so completely at home that you’ll wonder why not all cookies have it.

They don’t really NEED to be topped with a thick layer of lemon curd but that’s never stopped me before.

I think the leftover cookies are getting more and more flavorful. Next time I might make them a few days sooner to let the flavor develop. That’s another bonus here, actually- both the lemon curd and the shortbread can be made ahead in advance and store well. These would be perfect as wedding favors or for a shower.

To make the shortbread extra special, I stamped the top with a subtle little rosemary sprig stamp. I couldn’t find exactly the stamp I wanted so I cut one out of a little piece of rubber with an X-acto knife. I think it came out pretty cute!

Meyer Lemon Curd

I like making lemon curd extra creamy with an added step of, um, an extra butter emulsion. Regular lemons will also be excellent here, just a little more tart. Makes about 3 cups.

1 1/4 cups sugar

zest of 3 Meyer lemons

4 eggs

3/4 cup fresh Meyer lemon juice

12 tablespoons butter, divided

In a medium saucepan, whisk together the sugar and lemon zest, until the sugar is infused with lemon. Whisk in the eggs until well combined, then the lemon juice. Cut 8 tablespoons of butter into chunks and add to the mixture.

Put the pan over medium heat and whisk until the butter is melted and the mixture is smooth. Continue to whisk about 8-10 minutes, until mixture is thickened and bubbling (it will continue to thicken as it cools). Remove from heat.

Once mostly cooled, transfer to a blender. Add the remaining 4 tablespoons of butter (softened) and blend until creamy.

Refrigerate until ready to use, up to 3 or 4 weeks.

Rosemary Shortbread Cookies

Makes 3-4 dozen

2 cups butter, softened

1 cup sugar

1 tablespoon rosemary, chopped

1/2 teaspoon salt

4 1/4 cups flour

Mix together (in an electric mixer or by hand) the butter, sugar, rosemary, and salt until well combined. Add flour and mix until well incorporated. Dough will be soft.

Transfer to a plastic bag and flatten a bit. Chill in fridge for 1-2 hours.

Preheat oven to 375.

Remove from fridge and let sit for a few minutes. Between two sheets of wax paper or on a lightly floured surface, roll out dough to about 1/4″ thickness. Cut out with a fluted cutter and stamp the top with a clean rubber stamp if desired. Transfer to a baking sheet lined with parchment or silicone baking mat.

Bake until turning golden around the edges, about 12 minutes. Cool completely. Can be made ahead and stored in an airtight container for about a week.